Eli stands up while drinking coffee with her hand on her hips, and faced Willow. Now that she takes a good look at him, he's handsome and looks like Trace except that Trace has brown hair while Willow has an ebony color.
"Willow, don't you like me?" Eli suddenly asks. She looks serious and thirsty for an answer.
Willow sighed and smiled, "No, I just don't like people."
Eli nodded in understanding, "Ben doesn't like people too, but he never looks at me so low," Eli's voice was full of defense. She wants Willow to feel guilty for making her feel as if she's nothing whenever Willow looks at her.
"No," Willow's eyes were huge in surprise, he doesn't like humans but he never thought so low of Eli to make her notice. "I'm sorry if that is how you saw my actions. I just don't like people, and since we're not close, I feel uncomfortable around you." Half false, he wasn't fond of Eli in the first place since she's quite energetic and got close to the other servants fast, and she's a human but, of course, he never meant to offend Eli.
Willow thought that Eli will continue nagging but she beamed a cheerful smile and threw her cup on the trashcan beside the tree, "No worries," Eli sighed and pats Willow's head, "I'm not angry."
Eli doesn't usually pat someone's head just because she likes too, but when someone who's like Willow, someone who looks tough but is fragile inside talks to her, she can't help but make them feel appreciated.
Willow froze as Eli pats his head. It makes him feel warm and accepted, but there's a part of him that feels like he's being humiliated. How can a human do this to a vampire? He held Eli's hand and stared at her. Now that he looks at her face properly, she's quite beautiful. Her wide round brown eyes were like trees that give air, her soft small red lips, and long eyelashes make him feel nostalgic as if he had seen her before.
Eli remembered the time and turned around and headed to the library. But she halted her steps at the entrance and turned around to look at Willow, "Coffee's free! Just be sure to be nice to me next time." She smiled again before entering.
Willow just watches the human female enter the library while he holds his empty cup of coffee. Weirdly, he feels like this already happened before, being consoled and having a free cup of coffee. He laughed lightly before standing up. Since Ben excused himself, Rein told him that he should help Eli clean and arrange the library. It'll be embarrassing if he left a woman do all the work.
Pen stands up while handing Rein the papers about Sandra's social connection, and surprising enough, she has few beast friends.
"My liege," Rein worriedly looks at Taylan, "She has connections."
Taylan slowly bats his lashes as a light smirk appears on his face. The words that went out of his lips made the two servants freeze.
"Let's play their game, I'll make sure they'll pay for using my Queen's fragrance," Taylan can feel his blood boiling. All he wanted was to wake up with the Queen on his side, but now he has to deal with these worthless beasts, he can't believe that the Queen's mission for peace among the races turned to smoke that slowly disappears.
While Eli was arranging the books, she felt the effect of drinking her beloved water of life, coffee. Her stomach slowly starts to hurt. Willow passed by the aisle where she was standing and noticed her agonized state, her hand was on her stomach while leaning to the bookshelf.
"Are you alright?" Willow asks with books on his hand. He took a step to her and looks at her stomach, "Do you need to go to the ... toilet?" He can't believe he said such word - the word for a place where all people let their devastation and darkness out, but Eli looks like she's struggling.
Eli laughed and waves her hand, "No, it's acid reflux. I shouldn't drink coffee but I just can't help it," she laughs her pain but Willow's face looks scarier than usual.
"How can you do that when you know this is what will happen?" Willow's voice was a bit loud. He remembered that the Queen once suffered from the same situation. She'll even feel nauseous after drinking a cup of coffee.
"Chill," Eli said and stands up straight, "I'll buy a medicine. I'll be back," she passes by Willow who held her arm.
"I'll buy it, what if it worsens while you're on the street?" Willow's face was still scary but his tone was full of concern.
Eli smiled from seeing Willow, the arrogant guy, do this. She shook her head, "It's fine, I need to breathe some air too, I'll be back."
Willow let her go and watches as she goes. She and the Queen are alike, they'll be good friends if they met. He sighed as he wonders where could the Queen be. Is she in danger? Does she even exist? Does she want to go back?
Eli took a couple of deep breaths as she steps outside the library. The pharmacy is located in the next street, and she'll have to walk for a couple of minutes. She smiles while remembering Willow, it's all new to her that he's really a great person who's concerned for her and is emotional. Aside from Aunt Susie and Ben, there's no one else who looks after her.
Her chest somehow feels warm that the pain in her stomach was changed by a fluttery feeling.
Letting go, Eli thought about Willow's failed love, is so hard that Willow still looks like he's still clinging to a strand, as thin and weak as hair, that he'll still have a chance with his ex. He looks contented with what relationship he has with her, but there is something in his eyes that says that he'll be happier if she comes back to him. Eli even grew curious about what happened to Willow and his ex that lead to their break-up.
Eli almost passes by the pharmacy while thinking about Willow, good thing she saw the name of the drugstore. "And also, a bottle of water," Eli added after saying her medicine's name.
"Sorry, but we ran out of water," the cashier said with a slight frown on her face.
"Oh, that's fine," Eli smiled while looking around for a convenience store. She saw one across the street, but she'll have to walk to the pedestrian. Laziness struck her, but the medicine tastes extremely bitter that it may even worsen her stomachache if she eats it without water.
After buying from the drugstore, she decided to cross the street for a bottle of water. She hurriedly went back to the library, afraid that Willow might scold her if she takes too long and took her medicine on her way before entering the library. She saw him reading a book, he looks to occupied that he didn't even hear her coming. She went to the counter and bent her knees to take out the borrower's cards that she forgot to arrange yesterday in the cabinet under the counter desk.
Willow snapped out of the novel he was reading about a tragedy romance and closed the book to return to its proper place when he sensed those dirty bastards that were causing trouble for them when in fact, they should be focusing on finding their Queen. The library's door opened as their footsteps arrive.
Everyone, except Taylan, arrived in front of the beasts. Their King doesn't have to show his face, especially that not everyone knows that he's awake, and they don't know what business these beasts have.
Three beasts visited the library today. The largest beast smirks and puffs his cigarette smoke when he saw the King's servants. To him, they all look like sticks with strings used for the King's orders. "We're just here to tell you to stop looking for the Queen, you won't be able to find her." His eyes were full of mockery, there's no denying that they are threatening the Queen.
Rein smirked, "Do you think we'll believe you like that? What makes you think we haven't found her?"
Eli stopped piling the cards when he heard her boss's voice and was about to stand up to greet him when a thundering voice echoed around the room.
"F-cker! Do you think we're stupid? Huh!" Another beast shouted, "We're not like before to fall for your stupid ass mission for peace! Vampires always thought that we're lower!"
Eli froze with the mention of vampires, she turned her head to look at the glass cabinet which shows the reflection of the people Rein talks to. There are three large men. They wear black suits while the largest one who seems to be the leader holds a cigarette.
"We never thought of you that way," Trace said, it hurts for him to see that there are still beasts and other races who think that vampires still thinks that way, "The Queen wanted us to be---"
"Blah, blah, blah," the third beast laughed. His long hair sways as he tries to take a breath, then he glared, "The Queen will never reincarnate, and even if she did, you'll never find her."
Eli furrows her brows, what is happening? Is this some kind of show? Is this a prank? Queen? Vampires? She continues to watch them through the reflection but her eyes grew wide with an unexpected event that played before her eyes.
The largest guy slowly transforms into a beast. His skin turned into a shiny gray fur as his back protrudes while his face elongates. His teeth grew pointy and large enough for it to grow out of his lips. His eyes turned red and fiery. E's words came to her mind, "their furs are soft and shiny. Their fangs are pointy and marvelous. Their eyes are fiery and comfortable." But not on this one, the beast that transformed has shiny fur but not soft, it looks dry and hard. His fang doesn't even look marvelous even a bit. His eyes are fiery but not comfortable, it's full of hatred and anger.
Eli began to feel her hand shake in terror. This is real. This is happening. There's a beast in front of her. It also added to her fear that Rein and the others don't seem to be bothered even a bit.
How can she escape from this?